Comments on: Tenants, get control of your rights! http://www.homeiown.com/tenants-get-control-of-your-rights/ How buying, building or renting a house works in Australia Thu, 02 Feb 2012 21:05:23 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v= By: Renting a house and have a problem? Here's how to get help. | Home I Own, Aussie Real Estate Blog http://www.homeiown.com/tenants-get-control-of-your-rights/comment-page-1/#comment-22975 Renting a house and have a problem? Here's how to get help. | Home I Own, Aussie Real Estate Blog Wed, 01 Feb 2012 05:12:08 +0000 http://www.homeiown.com/?p=495#comment-22975 [...] I know about all of these problems from my own experience as well as people’s comments on my blog posts about breaking a lease and what rights do tenants have. [...] [...] I know about all of these problems from my own experience as well as people’s comments on my blog posts about breaking a lease and what rights do tenants have. [...]

]]> By: Chris http://www.homeiown.com/tenants-get-control-of-your-rights/comment-page-1/#comment-22962 Chris Tue, 31 Jan 2012 11:08:48 +0000 http://www.homeiown.com/?p=495#comment-22962 Hi Lisa, It should be as simple as that: if you've lived 12 months in that rental house, you should pay for 12 months, not 13. The bond doesn't count towards the rent, you pay it in the beginning of the tenancy and get it back at the end of the tenancy. Hope that helps. Hi Lisa,

It should be as simple as that: if you’ve lived 12 months in that rental house, you should pay for 12 months, not 13. The bond doesn’t count towards the rent, you pay it in the beginning of the tenancy and get it back at the end of the tenancy. Hope that helps.

]]> By: Lisa http://www.homeiown.com/tenants-get-control-of-your-rights/comment-page-1/#comment-22942 Lisa Sun, 29 Jan 2012 01:21:21 +0000 http://www.homeiown.com/?p=495#comment-22942 hi chris, i have recently vacated a property, and was under the impression that when i signed the lease and paid the bond and the the first months rent in advanced that the first months rent would be used as the last months rent at the end of my lease, it is now at the end of my lease and the agent is expecting me to pay the final month rent, is this correct? do i have to pay the final month? if so.. whats the point in paying the month in advance?! hi chris,

i have recently vacated a property, and was under the impression that when i signed the lease and paid the bond and the the first months rent in advanced that the first months rent would be used as the last months rent at the end of my lease, it is now at the end of my lease and the agent is expecting me to pay the final month rent, is this correct? do i have to pay the final month? if so.. whats the point in paying the month in advance?!

]]> By: Jasmine http://www.homeiown.com/tenants-get-control-of-your-rights/comment-page-1/#comment-22497 Jasmine Wed, 21 Dec 2011 10:10:57 +0000 http://www.homeiown.com/?p=495#comment-22497 Hi, I had a housemate that just gave me notice verbally (21/12/11). She moved in on the 28th February, 2011. Could you let me know which date she has paid up her rent? She wants to stay til the 31st December. I thought she has paid to the 28th December. I am in Victoria and she has only really given me 7 to 10 days notice. What do I owe her in the bond? Thanks Hi,

I had a housemate that just gave me notice verbally (21/12/11). She moved in on the 28th February, 2011. Could you let me know which date she has paid up her rent? She wants to stay til the 31st December. I thought she has paid to the 28th December. I am in Victoria and she has only really given me 7 to 10 days notice. What do I owe her in the bond? Thanks

]]> By: Pare http://www.homeiown.com/tenants-get-control-of-your-rights/comment-page-1/#comment-22351 Pare Wed, 14 Dec 2011 02:24:36 +0000 http://www.homeiown.com/?p=495#comment-22351 Good afternoon, In Re: Accidental House Fire, qld The property we rented at 2-3 months ago was subject to a house fire, where we lost everything. We had relatives visiting the day it happened. Our 3 year old nephew took hold of a lighter, went upstairs to our sons room and lit a mattress, by the time the smoke alarm had alerted me, we only had enough time to get the other occupants out. We alerted the Real Estate Agency most immediate, 2 days later we received a phone call from Our Property Manager who needed to arrange a meeting to see us asap. At the meeting we were informed that the Owners had actually taken possession from the Agency some time ago & that they are no longer manage the property, she then gave us a Cheque for the total amount of rent we had paid in advance (3months adv) as well as the Bond Release papers to get our bond money back. She then informed us that the owners still owed us an amount of $900+ for rent paid in adv to them. Our dilemna is; we don't know where we stand legally, are we liable for damages? What do we do from here? We've made several calls to services in the hope that they would be able to shed light on our situation, but no success. Good afternoon,

In Re: Accidental House Fire, qld

The property we rented at 2-3 months ago was subject to a house fire, where we lost everything. We had relatives visiting the day it happened. Our 3 year old nephew took hold of a lighter, went upstairs to our sons room and lit a mattress, by the time the smoke alarm had alerted me, we only had enough time to get the other occupants out. We alerted the Real Estate Agency most immediate, 2 days later we received a phone call from Our Property Manager who needed to arrange a meeting to see us asap. At the meeting we were informed that the Owners had actually taken possession from the Agency some time ago & that they are no longer manage the property, she then gave us a Cheque for the total amount of rent we had paid in advance (3months adv) as well as the Bond Release papers to get our bond money back. She then informed us that the owners still owed us an amount of $900+ for rent paid in adv to them. Our dilemna is; we don’t know where we stand legally, are we liable for damages? What do we do from here? We’ve made several calls to services in the hope that they would be able to shed light on our situation, but no success.

]]> By: Andrea Garzon http://www.homeiown.com/tenants-get-control-of-your-rights/comment-page-1/#comment-22347 Andrea Garzon Wed, 14 Dec 2011 00:51:26 +0000 http://www.homeiown.com/?p=495#comment-22347 I'm at my wits end now could you please offer some advice. So I'll list all the issues which the Real Estate Agents are already aware of and what has been actioned. Note that this is a brand new property that we moved into. 1. Oven wasn't working for 2 weeks. The technician called us up we had to do the fidling around and eventually had to reset the master switch and put the oven on in a certain manner to get the thing started. Problem Solved. 2. Sensor light worked on the first day we moved in and was the only day that it worked. Have spoken the the Real Estate Agent and one of the maintenance crew were out today (2 months after the fact) and had a look at it. The bulb was fine but it seems that we have blown a fuse somewhere and the electrician has to come out now to have a look. Issue not resolved. 3. Heater not working. There is ducted heating through the whole house but the unit does not seem to be working at all. We have been up in the roof reset the whole thing as tole to over the phone by the company who installed it. We have had an air conditioning technician out to have a look and he couldn't get it working. They have logged in a service call. The maintenance crew that were out today said it wasn't the same one that they had installed. We have no idea what is going on with this heater. Issue not resolved and it's been going on for 2 months. 4. The laundry. This was an absolute joke how it was missed. Firstly the water to the laundry sink was not connected. Secondly the S bend connecting the base of the sink to the drain was not installed. Finally the orientation of the sink was wrong. The space for the washing machine was directly in front of the door under the sink meaning once the machine was in the access would be blocked and the drainage hole for the washing machine in the sink was diagonally opposite to where the washing machine was. The water and the S bend were fixed up today. The sink orentation however has remained and we were told that they would have to return another time to rectify this. 5. The cables under the house apparently have been cut. So we have no phone and therefor can't get internet. We have paid for the connection but apparently it's up to the land lord or that's what we have been told to have the cables fixed. Issue not resolved. What can we do in this situtation? It's not like we can refuse to pay the rent can we? Would we be able to ask for a decrease in the rent? My partner and I have already taken a fair amout of time off work to have these issues sorted out. We don't get paid for this. Due to some of the issues we have had to use external places. eg laundry as we couldn't use our washing machine, internet cafes and mobiles we don't get reimbursed for this. What rights do we have? Please help I’m at my wits end now could you please offer some advice.

So I’ll list all the issues which the Real Estate Agents are already aware of and what has been actioned. Note that this is a brand new property that we moved into.

1. Oven wasn’t working for 2 weeks. The technician called us up we had to do the fidling around and eventually had to reset the master switch and put the oven on in a certain manner to get the thing started. Problem Solved.

2. Sensor light worked on the first day we moved in and was the only day that it worked. Have spoken the the Real Estate Agent and one of the maintenance crew were out today (2 months after the fact) and had a look at it. The bulb was fine but it seems that we have blown a fuse somewhere and the electrician has to come out now to have a look. Issue not resolved.

3. Heater not working. There is ducted heating through the whole house but the unit does not seem to be working at all. We have been up in the roof reset the whole thing as tole to over the phone by the company who installed it. We have had an air conditioning technician out to have a look and he couldn’t get it working. They have logged in a service call. The maintenance crew that were out today said it wasn’t the same one that they had installed. We have no idea what is going on with this heater. Issue not resolved and it’s been going on for 2 months.

4. The laundry. This was an absolute joke how it was missed. Firstly the water to the laundry sink was not connected. Secondly the S bend connecting the base of the sink to the drain was not installed. Finally the orientation of the sink was wrong. The space for the washing machine was directly in front of the door under the sink meaning once the machine was in the access would be blocked and the drainage hole for the washing machine in the sink was diagonally opposite to where the washing machine was. The water and the S bend were fixed up today. The sink orentation however has remained and we were told that they would have to return another time to rectify this.

5. The cables under the house apparently have been cut. So we have no phone and therefor can’t get internet. We have paid for the connection but apparently it’s up to the land lord or that’s what we have been told to have the cables fixed. Issue not resolved.

What can we do in this situtation?
It’s not like we can refuse to pay the rent can we?
Would we be able to ask for a decrease in the rent?

My partner and I have already taken a fair amout of time off work to have these issues sorted out. We don’t get paid for this.
Due to some of the issues we have had to use external places. eg laundry as we couldn’t use our washing machine, internet cafes and mobiles we don’t get reimbursed for this.

What rights do we have?

Please help

]]> By: Ollie http://www.homeiown.com/tenants-get-control-of-your-rights/comment-page-1/#comment-22280 Ollie Mon, 12 Dec 2011 08:15:40 +0000 http://www.homeiown.com/?p=495#comment-22280 Hi Chris, Hopefully you are still monitoring this site and might have some insight on this issue! I have a strange issue but it has caused me to become quite peeved at general renting. Basically I live in an apartment building in Melbourne, and the other night we were on our balcony (26 stories up) and there was a bottle on the air condition unit that we had - and it got blown off by the wind - pure accident. Except that we now have a complaint against us saying that we 'threw a bottle from our balcony' and that we will have to pay for the body corporate charge for them to clean it up. The issue here is, that the bottle was never thrown, and the glass mostly remained behind our air condition unit as it fell behind it, and only a small amount of glass went to the connected balcony. A few questions, one - do complaints stick next to your name with the actual incident, as in I would like to dispute the fact that any bottle was 'thrown' . And - was the body corporate actually needed to come in to clean any other mess that occured and are we truly liable? Since it landed on our neighbours balcony as well, it seems a bit unfair that they would launch straight to a complaint without actually consulting us. I remember reading somewhere that the body corporate should try and instigate a discussion between quarrelling neighbours rather than having complaints lodged straight away, is this true? Where do you think I stand in this issue? Thanks Hi Chris, Hopefully you are still monitoring this site and might have some insight on this issue! I have a strange issue but it has caused me to become quite peeved at general renting. Basically I live in an apartment building in Melbourne, and the other night we were on our balcony (26 stories up) and there was a bottle on the air condition unit that we had – and it got blown off by the wind – pure accident. Except that we now have a complaint against us saying that we ‘threw a bottle from our balcony’ and that we will have to pay for the body corporate charge for them to clean it up. The issue here is, that the bottle was never thrown, and the glass mostly remained behind our air condition unit as it fell behind it, and only a small amount of glass went to the connected balcony. A few questions, one – do complaints stick next to your name with the actual incident, as in I would like to dispute the fact that any bottle was ‘thrown’ . And – was the body corporate actually needed to come in to clean any other mess that occured and are we truly liable? Since it landed on our neighbours balcony as well, it seems a bit unfair that they would launch straight to a complaint without actually consulting us. I remember reading somewhere that the body corporate should try and instigate a discussion between quarrelling neighbours rather than having complaints lodged straight away, is this true? Where do you think I stand in this issue?

Thanks

]]> By: richard stubbs http://www.homeiown.com/tenants-get-control-of-your-rights/comment-page-1/#comment-22033 richard stubbs Sun, 04 Dec 2011 07:54:02 +0000 http://www.homeiown.com/?p=495#comment-22033 I am renting a house in S.A. and the landlord has asked me to make rental payments by direct debit. I notice that the rental agreement states rent to paid on the Monday of each week by direct debit. I have lived here for over a year and always paid by cash deposit into the landlord's bank account. Can he insist on a direct debit payment? I am renting a house in S.A. and the landlord has asked me to make rental payments by direct debit. I notice that the rental agreement states rent to paid on the Monday of each week by direct debit. I have lived here for over a year and always paid by cash deposit into the landlord’s bank account. Can he insist on a direct debit payment?

]]> By: Chris http://www.homeiown.com/tenants-get-control-of-your-rights/comment-page-1/#comment-19007 Chris Wed, 16 Mar 2011 03:05:19 +0000 http://www.homeiown.com/?p=495#comment-19007 Hi Queenie, I guess your rights in regard to this are defined in the contract - what does your rental contract say about the gardening / maintenance fees? If it's not defined, I would ring the Consumer Affairs of Victoria(if you're in VIC) or the relevant organization in your state, to ask for advice. They most probably have dealt with many situations of the same kind, so they will be able to advise where the law stands in this regard. Hi Queenie, I guess your rights in regard to this are defined in the contract – what does your rental contract say about the gardening / maintenance fees? If it’s not defined, I would ring the Consumer Affairs of Victoria(if you’re in VIC) or the relevant organization in your state, to ask for advice. They most probably have dealt with many situations of the same kind, so they will be able to advise where the law stands in this regard.

]]> By: Queenie http://www.homeiown.com/tenants-get-control-of-your-rights/comment-page-1/#comment-18991 Queenie Tue, 15 Mar 2011 03:12:59 +0000 http://www.homeiown.com/?p=495#comment-18991 Hi there, my housemate and I have been renting a unit for the past year. Before we signed the least agreement, when we were inspecting the unit, we specifically asked the real estate agent about the maintenance of the driveway (shared by 3 units) and was told we do NOT need to worry about any gardening/maintenance in the driveway as it is under the body corp. During the first 3 mths of our stay we noticed that the weeds have overgrown into the driveway and requested maintenance by the landlord, which they have done and we were not asked to pay. During our 12 mth lease we've had multiple inspections and on each report we receive after it has always stated that maintenance of the driveway weeds is the responsibility of the landlord. However, few wks ago the driveway had weeding done again, and this time the real estate sent us a letter requesting that we pay half of the $320 bill of gardening of the driveway. We wrote back protesting this as we were clearly told that the driveway is not our responsibility but real estate still insisted that we pay. What are our rights? Thanks! Hi there,
my housemate and I have been renting a unit for the past year. Before we signed the least agreement, when we were inspecting the unit, we specifically asked the real estate agent about the maintenance of the driveway (shared by 3 units) and was told we do NOT need to worry about any gardening/maintenance in the driveway as it is under the body corp. During the first 3 mths of our stay we noticed that the weeds have overgrown into the driveway and requested maintenance by the landlord, which they have done and we were not asked to pay. During our 12 mth lease we’ve had multiple inspections and on each report we receive after it has always stated that maintenance of the driveway weeds is the responsibility of the landlord. However, few wks ago the driveway had weeding done again, and this time the real estate sent us a letter requesting that we pay half of the $320 bill of gardening of the driveway. We wrote back protesting this as we were clearly told that the driveway is not our responsibility but real estate still insisted that we pay. What are our rights? Thanks!

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